


stulti amor facit maximus

by Salty_Cro



Series: knives in the sand, gun in your hand [3]
Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: 5+1 Things, Idiots in Love, M/M, wow gays really be like that huh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 15:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15710316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salty_Cro/pseuds/Salty_Cro
Summary: gays are notoriously bad at recognizing flirting but also Sier is just impulsively stupid in general





	stulti amor facit maximus

**/ Barrels**

 

“Yeehaw!” Crash.

 

Immediately, Arcade knew that Sier was doing something incredibly stupid. Sure enough, when he turned around, Sier was on the ground, laying next to a barrel. A barrel that was on fire. Sier was on fire.

 

“Sier!” Arcade exclaimed. He sprinted over and kicked the blazing barrel away, ignoring the clanking and crackling. He started extinguishing the flames on Sier’s leg.

 

“I’m smoking hot,” Sier winked. Arcade just looked at him, disdain pouring from his eyes.

 

“You’re going to get yourself killed,” Arcade said. He examined the damage. Sier sustained some burns, but nothing that wouldn’t heal with a stimpak or two.

 

“With you by my side? I don’t think so,” Sier said.

 

“I can’t save you from your own stupidity,” Arcade muttered.

 

“I heard that,” Sier grinned.

 

“I know,” Arcade said. He readied a stimpak and jabbed it into the injured leg. He may have been a little more forceful than necessary, just to remind Sier of his affected morality.

 

“Don’t you have to take some sort of oath that prevents you from harming patients?” Sier pointed out, like he could read Arcade’s thoughts.

 

“You’re not a patient,” Arcade said.

 

“Oh? What am I then?” Sier teased.

 

“An idiot,” Arcade said, a small smile creeping onto his face.

 

**// Vipers**

 

“Pass me a grenade.”

 

“Wait until we know what it is,” Arcade disputed.

 

They were huddled behind a rock outcropping, looking at Sier’s Pipboy. It showed a big group of enemies in the clearing, right behind the rock.

 

“There’s a lot of them. We just need to scatter them, so they can’t all attack at once,” Sier said.

 

“So more of them escape?” Arcade pointed out.

 

“Whatever. I’m going in,” Sier said. He pulled out his holorifle and jumped out, running towards the enemies.

 

“Don’t--” Arcade yelled. But it was too late. Arcade chased Sier into the clearing.

 

“You like the sight of your own blood?” A Viper called out. Arcade shot them with his plasma defender before the could get behind Sier.

 

“Arcade, go up the hill over here!” Sier instructed. 

 

Arcade frowned, but did it anyway. He picked off a few more Vipers on the way. Most of them were focused on Sier, so they didn’t expect the shots from behind. Arcade figured that was Sier’s plan. It wasn’t the worst, but it definitely could have gone better.

 

The last of the Vipers fell to the ground, dissolved into ash and goo. Sier ran up the hill to Arcade.

 

“Look, I got a star bottle cap,” Sier said excitedly.

 

“You’re an idiot,” Arcade said. He took the bottle cap anyway and handed Sier a stimpak.

 

**/// Deathclaws**

 

“Wait here.”

 

Before Arcade could respond, Sier was racing out of the abandoned farmhouse. Arcade just huffed and followed him.

 

“Sier?” Arcade shouted. Sier was nowhere in sight.

 

A Deathclaw growl echoed from the far side of the house. Arcade scowled and pulled out his plasma defender. He crept toward the sound, trying to stay hidden.

 

“Motherfucker!” Sier shrieked. 

 

Then a few shots from a plasma rifle rang out. Arcade abandoned his attempt at stealth, rushing towards the sound. Behind the house, Sier was standing over the body of a Deathclaw.

 

“Hey Arc,” Sier said, somehow completely relaxed. Arcade scanned him for injuries. Somehow, Sier looked fine.

 

“What the fuck,” Arcade confronted, breathing hard. Running in the desert and panic were bad separately, but together was much worse.

 

“It showed up on my Pipboy,” Sier said simply. Arcade wanted to rip the damn thing off Sier’s wrist, if it meant they stopped running directly into danger.

 

“And we were perfectly safe inside!” Arcade replied incredulously.

 

“We can argue about this later,” Sier said. He gestured behind Arcade, “There’s more coming.”

 

Arcade scoffed, “Son of a--”

 

Sier grabbed Arcade’s  arm and started running. Arcade maneuvered their arms so their hands were clasped together.

 

“You’re an idiot,” Arcade breathed heavily. Sier didn’t seem to hear him.

 

**//// Powder Gangers**

 

“I’m about to do something really stupid.”

 

“Finally! A warning. Unlike every other time, where you run faster than a Deathclaw into a death trap, leaving me to panic alone or chase after you,” Arcade whispered back.

 

“Well, I’ve actually thought it through this time,” Sier muttered.

 

“And you’re still going to do it?” Arcade raised an eyebrow.

 

“It’s… It’s personal,” Sier explained quietly, “You don’t have to help, but if you don’t, you should wait somewhere far from here.”

 

“Wh-- Sier, what are you going to do?” Arcade frowned.

 

“You’re not gonna like it. I don’t like it. But if I get rid of one person, I have to get rid of all of them. Or else we’re gonna be in a lot of trouble,” Sier said.

 

“What did they say?” Arcade asked.

 

“I… don’t worry about it,” Sier mumbled, “We can talk about it afterwards.”

 

“Well,” Arcade sighed, “What’s the plan?”

 

The next fifteen minutes passed in a cacophony of gunfire and explosions. It started with Sier sending one perfectly aimed microfusion cell into Eddie’s head and ended with them fleeing from the correctional facility, covered in rubble and blood.

 

Once they were a safe distance away, Sier turned to Arcade.

 

“I guess you want an explanation now, huh,” Sier said.

 

“Considering that I just helped you kill a bunch of people, yeah, an explanation would be nice,” Arcade said.

 

“I don’t-- I mean, I think it was justified, but you’re not gonna-- you won’t like what they said that made me want to do that,” Sier.

 

“I would hope so, I don’t want to kill someone for saying something nice,” Arcade said.

 

“No, I know, I just-- I don’t know how to explain it. It was… it was about you,” Sier said.

 

“Oh,” Arcade said.

 

“I don’t-- I can’t even say what it was. It just made me really angry and uncomfortable, I don’t even want to remember it. And I know they aren’t really a threat to us, but… I guess I was doing it to protect you,” Sier rambled, getting quieter with each word.

 

Silence fell between them. Arcade was trying to figure out what would make Sier so upset, and how Arcade would need to be protected from it. Sier was staring at the ground, probably avoiding Arcade.

 

Finally, Arcade spoke, “Look, I don’t know what they said. But I trust you. And you did it to protect me, in some way that I’m not really sure of. If it’s hard to say, I won’t push it, because then I probably don’t want to hear it either.”

 

“Thanks,” Sier said. To Arcade’s surprise, Sier reached forward and enveloped him in a hug.

 

“Don’t get me wrong, you’re still an idiot for trying to kill all of them,” Arcade said, awkwardly placing his arms around Sier’s shoulders. Sier just laughed.

 

**///// Caesar’s Legion**

 

“How do you feel about destroying an entire faction?”

 

Without looking up from his book, Arcade replied, “I think you know the answer.”

 

“It’s the Legion,” Sier said, like that would make it sound less crazy.

 

“Right, like that’s going to work out,” Arcade said.

 

“If we kill Caesar fast enough, we can get away without taking too much damage,” Sier reasoned.

 

“That’s true, but also very unlikely,” Arcade said.

 

“I’m going either way,” Sier said.

 

“Fine, I’ll help,” Arcade said.

 

“That’s the spirit,” Sier grinned.

 

After a long walk and boat ride, they reached the Fort’s drawbridge. The guards looked doubtful, but Sier just walked through without comment. After all, Arcade figured, they didn’t know what Sier was planning.

 

“They’re only going to let me in the tent, so it’ll be a minute before I get back to you,” Sier whispered.

 

“I’ll be at the top of the hill, so at least I’ll have an advantage,” Arcade shrugged.

 

“Still, try to stay safe until I get out,” Sier said under his breath, “Not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that it would be hard to get both of us out of here if one of us gets hurt.”

 

“Have you considered that  _ you _ need to be careful? Especially since you’re on the inside. As your doctor, I would prefer that you not get shot,” Arcade said quietly.

 

“Come on, you’re showing up my subtle attempt of me saying I care about you,” Sier protested.

 

“I was just returning the gesture,” Arcade said.

 

Before Sier could reply, they reached the entrance to Caesar’s tent.

 

“Right. Wait here, I’ll be out soon,” Sier said, at normal volume.

 

“Good luck,” Arcade said. Sier nodded and entered the tent.

 

A few seconds passed. Arcade’s hand slowly crept toward his gun. He held his breath, waiting for the gunshot. 

 

One shot. Chaos erupted inside the tent. Two more shots. Two thuds. Dogs nearby started barking. Arcade heard Sier talking nicely to one of them.

 

“Arc, start running, I’ll catch up,” Sier called from inside the tent.

 

“As much as I would love to, there’s a lot of them down there and two of us,” Arcade shouted back.

 

“I gave you four guns! Use one of them!” Sier burst out of the tent, holding his holorifle in one hand and a knife in the other.

 

“I don’t think--” Arcade started. Sier interrupted him by grabbing his hand and pulling him down the hill.

 

“Good! We don’t have time to think!” Sier said.

 

Shooting and stabbing their way through the soldiers swarming them, they made it to the door. Sier pulled the door open. Arcade shot down the two Legionnaires manning the dock and started untying the boat. Sier joined him, and then they were moving down the river.

 

“Well that was fun,” Sier said.

 

“That was the most idiotic thing you-- we’ve ever done,” Arcade said. Sier smiled.

 

**+/ Feelings**

 

“Can I ask you something?”

 

Arcade was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Sier was standing by the fridge, sorting through all the food he was putting away.

 

“Shoot,” Sier said.

 

“Would… uh-- do you…” Arcade trailed off. His mouth seemed to have stopped working.

 

“Something wrong?” Sier frowned. Arcade looked down at the ground.

 

“No, I just…” Arcade squinted at the floor, like the quadrilateral flower pattern might tell him what to say.

 

“Did you kill someone? Do you need help killing someone” Sier guessed. Arcade looked up at him with disdain.

 

“No, I didn’t kill anyone, and I don't need help killing anyone,” Arcade sighed.

 

“This is a judgement free zone. The other day I watched Boone pick up some iguana on a stick off the ground and eat it. Nothing you could say or do would be worse than that,” Sier said.

 

“I can promise you it's not that,” Arcade said. He looked back down. “It's just… I don't know how to put this… we’ve been traveling together for a while. I've told you things I've never told anyone before. I willingly put myself in danger for you every time we go out. So… I’m pretty sure I'm in love with you.”

 

There was a tense pause. Arcade wondered how hard it would be to break a window to jump out of. By the time he figured out the math, Sier spoke.

 

“That's what you wanted to say? I thought you were going to say you wanted to leave,” Sier said.

 

“Well, uh, the opposite, I guess,” Arcade stumbled.

 

“That's… uh, that's good. Because, I uh, I think I'm in love with you too,” Sier said.

 

“Oh. Good. Great,” Arcade nodded.

 

They looked at each other. Neither of them moved.

 

“Can I… kiss you?” Arcade asked.

 

“Yeah,” Sier said.

 

Finally, Arcade stepped forward and reached for Sier. He ended up holding Sier’s waist as Sier rested his arms on Arcade’s shoulders. Their lips met.

 

The kiss was soft and tentative. It was a first step, testing the waters. It was a promise.

 

Arcade pulled back. “How long?”

 

“Since you kicked that flaming barrel. That's when I knew, at least,” Sier admitted, “You?”

 

“I'm not sure. Also, you were the one who knocked over that barrel by jumping over it,” Arcade said.

 

“Guess we're both a couple of idiots,” Sier smiled.

 

“Well, stulti amor facit maximus. Love makes the biggest fools,” Arcade agreed.

 

“You can't say something smart right after I say we're stupid, you're making me look bad,” Sier said.

 

“And what are you going to do about it?” Arcade smirked.

 

Instead of answering, Sier just kissed Arcade again.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Veronica: can you guys like move
> 
> Boone: Sier you promised not to tell anyone about that
> 
> Raul: why are we all in the kitchen


End file.
